Latest Clinical & Research News
Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest forms of women’s cancer, with a five-year survival rate of 47.4 percent. The standard of care for first-line treatment is platinum- and taxane-based chemotherapy, which results in high initial response rates.
This November, members of Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation and Immunity presented several groundbreaking studies at the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR’s) annual meeting in Atlanta.
For years, general thoracic surgery was largely associated with open procedures such as thoracotomy, sternotomy and laparotomy. Minimally invasive techniques have steadily gained traction since the early 1990s, particularly for smaller procedures like wedge resection and pleural biopsy.
In the last decade, there has been rapid progress in the treatment of aortic valve disease with catheter-based therapies. For adults with aortic stenosis, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become commonplace, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital offering the highest-volume TAVR program in New England.
Clinicians at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are using hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS) to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients who struggle to tolerate the first-line therapy, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The Brigham is a leader in using the novel procedure, which involves surgically implanting a device in patients to relieve apnea episodes. HNS offers hope to those with OSA who are intolerant to CPAP.
For couples with recurrent miscarriage (RM), the condition remains unexplained in about 40 to 60 percent, even after costly testing. Chromosomal abnormalities—rearrangements of large chunks of DNA—in the genomes of one or both individuals trying to conceive are thought to be among the major genetic causes of RM. But routine chromosome analysis (karyotyping) can currently detect these abnormalities in only about 1 in 50 couples.
A small molecule discovered by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital may hold promise for treating mucin-1 kidney disease (MKD) as well as other toxic proteinopathies of the brain, eye, lungs and liver. These diseases are driven by genetic mutations that result in misfolded, “toxic” proteins that in turn become trapped and accumulated in cells.
The opioid epidemic in the United States is entering its third decade, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has had a longstanding commitment to deliver care to those facing addiction to opioids as well as alcohol and other drugs. The Brigham’s Bridge Clinic, established in 2018, is the latest program aimed at reducing barriers to treatment. The clinic provides urgent, on-demand care while also helping patients transition to other, longer-term programs.
Through its comprehensive clinical services and research efforts, the Center for Adrenal Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital is playing a key role in advancing adrenal care. As such, it continues the institution’s long tradition of excellence in the field.
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with structural heart disease can be life-threatening and often requires a multi-pronged treatment strategy. While implanted defibrillators can detect arrhythmias, shocks can be painful and sometimes harmful.
Medications can help manage or eliminate VT, but they can have limited efficacy and toxicities. And while radiofrequency catheter ablation can destroy abnormal heart tissues, success rates range from 49 to 75 percent.
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